The story begins in Food Wars, when Alice took him home.

"Let's get started."

Turning her gaze back, Alice Nakiri quickly got into the zone, deftly washing the flounder in front of her, removing the scales, innards, and bones, and taking only the flesh.

Cut the fish into small pieces, then mince it with the back of a knife. While mincing, Alice asked other chefs for some scallions, ginger, and lemon, and mixed them with salt to make a bowl of scallion, ginger, and lemon salt water to remove the fishy smell and enhance the aroma.

Learning something new and applying it immediately—that's the best way to put it into practice.

Bai Yuan nodded secretly from a distance. Although he had instructed Nakiri Alice to specialize in molecular gastronomy during this period, he had not neglected to hone her basic culinary skills.

These are all fundamental skills in cooking, and they can be applied even in molecular gastronomy.

After mincing the fish into a paste, Alice Nakiri took out a piece of pork fat, cut it into small pieces, and pounded it into a paste with the back of a knife. Then she mixed the two together and continued to pound them with the back of a knife until they were combined.

The ratio of fish to pork fat needs to be 2:1, and tapioca flour and wheat flour need to be added in a ratio of 3:1.

Add chicken powder, MSG, sugar, salt, and pepper. Then chop some onion and garlic, and sprinkle them in batches onto the fish filling on the cutting board. Continue to chop with the back of a knife.

Add the mixture of tapioca flour and wheat flour in two batches during the process, then add two spoonfuls of fish sauce until they are completely combined.

Even after the fish filling is perfectly blended, you still can't relax. You need to pick up the prepared filling by hand and pound it vigorously until it becomes sticky, in order to improve the texture of the shumai.

By the time she finished this step, Alice Nakiri was panting heavily. The fish filling in front of her was now crystal clear and looked incredibly appetizing.

"Ten minutes versus half an hour, is the difference really that huge...?"

Looking at the fish filling in front of her, Alice Nakiri did not feel smug. Instead, she remembered the fish filling that Shirai had pounded with an iron bar.

Crystal clear like crystal, you can even see your reflection when you stand in front of it. Both its appearance and taste have reached the limit of what fish can achieve!

However, Bai Yuan used catfish back then, while she is using flounder now, so there will be some differences between the two.

Place the prepared fish meat in a plate and freeze it for half an hour. This will help lock in the moisture of the fish meat.

Meanwhile, Alice Nakiri found a bag of flour in the kitchen, cleared the countertop, and prepared to make shumai wrappers herself.

Chapter 17 Miscalculation, Bai Yuan's Guidance

The wrappers for shumai are different from those for steamed buns. The ideal wrapper is paper-thin, allowing light to pass through, and turns crystal clear after steaming.

Because noodle cooking is considered the most basic of all dishes, Bai Yuan spent a whole month teaching Nakiri Alice, so her noodle-making skills are now comparable to those of a third-class chef.

She makes shumai every few days because of its delicious taste, and each time she makes it with different fillings. She also has her own insights into making shumai wrappers.

If we're just talking about making shumai wrappers, Alice Nakiri can confidently declare that she can challenge a top-notch chef.

At this moment, the girl added high-gluten flour and warm water to the basin, then added salt and stirred it with chopsticks until it became flocculent, and then kneaded it by hand until smooth.

Unlike ordinary chefs who only let their dough rise once, Alice Nakiri insists on three resting and three kneadings to make the dough more elastic, allowing it to be rolled out wide and large, perfect for wrapping shumai.

After kneading the dough three times, the dough used to make shumai wrappers was as smooth as a baby's skin. Alice Nakiri quickly rolled it into long strips and took out 5 grams of dough to make a dough ball.

Lay the dough ball flat on the table and roll it out with a rolling pin to the size of your palm, making the edges thinner and the center relatively thicker so that the shumai won't leak.

Although it's just a trivial little trick, it can greatly improve the quality of shumai. At the beginning, Alice Nakiri ruined a lot of shumai because she didn't pay attention to this.

Because of this, she always remembered this point when making shumai, and from then on, no more shumai with a leaky bottom were ever made. It has to be said that you can learn something after just one try.

Meanwhile, while Alice Nakiri was making shumai wrappers, Ryo Kurokiba had already finished cooking and was walking towards Shirabuchi, exuding a murderous aura.

"Try it! My secret-recipe cod broth ramen!"

Without any hesitation, Kurokiba Ryo placed the ramen bowl in front of Shiro Akimoto. His eyes seemed to burn with a fierce flame as he looked at him, his hands clenched into fists, silently awaiting his evaluation.

"When I saw you break up the cod with a fork, I thought you were going to make a topping for noodles and pour a pot of cod sauce over the noodles."

However, this one is quite good too. The cod fillets are fried to a golden brown and crispy perfection, which looks very appetizing. In addition, shrimp, crab meat, and roasted mushrooms are added, which further enhances the flavor of the dish.

Looking at the cod broth ramen in front of him, Bai Yuan picked up a spoon, looked at the cod broth in the bowl with a serious expression, and then put it into his mouth.

The delicate flavors spread across his tongue and throughout his mouth. As he savored the sweetness of the fish soup, Bai Yuan's face lit up with an expression of enjoyment.

but…

He raised his head and looked at Kurokiba Ryo, while Shirabuchi silently put down his spoon.

"This is ramen, right?"

"That's right! How about my secret-recipe cod broth ramen? Isn't it so delicious that you'll want to eat it all!"

Looking at the calm expression on Shirayuki's face, even though Kurokiba Ryo had boundless confidence in his cooking, his voice couldn't help but lower at this moment.

He wasn't stupid; he could naturally see that Bai Yuan's attitude was ambiguous. So where was the problem? This dish was clearly praised by many diners!

"Unfortunately, although the taste is indeed great, this cod chowder ramen has a fatal flaw: it is too oily."

You need to understand that you're making ramen. While simmering a rich broth can bring out all the flavors of the ingredients, it can also make the whole pot of soup greasy.

Although cod isn't particularly high in fat compared to other fish, did you add a lot of butter and cream when cooking it?

"That's right, this makes the soup taste richer and more flavorful, and it will be delicious with ramen. You'll know once you try it with noodles!"

Perhaps feeling that it was too hasty to make a judgment based on only taking a sip of soup, Kurokiba Ryo urged anxiously, his voice filled with urgency.

"Actually, you don't need to taste it; you can already tell from the aroma wafting through the air."

Next, do as I say and add celery, onions, carrots, and other vegetables to your cod soup to balance its texture and flavor.

The ratio of soup to vegetables is 5:1. You added too much butter and cream, and it's difficult to neutralize the greasiness without adding enough vegetables.

If you don't believe me, you can put two bowls of ramen outside and let the customers choose which one is more delicious.

Seeing Kurokiba Ryo's eyes regain their composure after their initial anger, Bai Yuan calmly took a sip of tea.

The cod broth ramen in front of me clearly aims to push a flavor to its limit, delivering a powerful and impactful taste experience to diners—a typical Western approach.

However, due to his lack of skill, Kurokiba Ryo did not strike a good balance, resulting in an exceptionally greasy cod soup.

To salvage this situation, you can only add refreshing vegetables; otherwise, even if you finish the bowl of ramen, you'll feel so nauseous that you won't have any appetite for other dishes.

"Okay, I'll give it a try. I hope it's really as you say."

Hearing Bai Yuan's confident words, Kurokiba Ryo suddenly fell silent for a few seconds, but thinking that he would not lose anything by trying, he agreed.

If Bai Yuan's suggestion goes wrong, he will be condemned by everyone, and he will be the one who loses face. Besides, he also feels that there is something wrong with his cooking.

Despite being constantly praised, praise doesn't make one improve. Back at the kitchen counter, Kurokiba Ryo opened the pot for simmering the thick soup.

Although it's a seafood restaurant, there are also plenty of fresh vegetables in the kitchen. Kurokiba Ryo thought for a moment and added not only celery, onions, and carrots, but also several other vegetables to reduce the greasiness, based on his experience.

With the addition of several vegetables, the cod soup visibly became fresher, and after taking a sip with a spoon, the taste was indeed more palatable.

"I see…"

Pour the soup into a large bowl, then put the ramen noodles into the pot and cook them. After cooking, use a strainer to drain the water and put them into the large bowl to create soup bubbles.

Heat oil in a pan and fry the cod fillets until golden brown on both sides. Then prepare the other side dishes.

At the same time, Alice Nakiri finished making the shumai, took them out of the steamer, and deftly placed the best-looking ones onto a plate, presenting them to Bai Yuan like a treasure.

The fish and pork shumai are neatly arranged on the plate. Underneath the translucent skin, you can vaguely see the perfect blend of fish and pork fat. The color is enticing and the aroma is irresistible.

"Brother Baiyuan, try some!"

The girl's voice was clear and melodious, like the ringing of silver bells. As she spoke, she picked up her chopsticks and brought the crystal-clear fish shumai to Bai Yuan's lips.

Bai Yuan simply opened his mouth to respond, a faint smile on his face.

For some reason, Alice has been enjoying feeding him lately, especially after she has successfully prepared a delicious meal.

At first, Bai Yuan thought that Alice Nakiri wanted him to evaluate the taste of the dishes so that he could learn from the experience and improve himself.

But he later discovered that every time he gave a comment, Alice Nakiri lost interest, and only when he said it was delicious would she smile.

"So you wanted your master's approval!"

Having figured this out, Bai Yuan began to use encouragement-based teaching.

Simply put, it involves first praising Alice Nakiri's cooking as delicious, and then correcting the minor issues with her cooking.

Thus, Alice Nakiri is always in a state of high energy, paying extra attention to cooking and wanting to give him the best culinary experience.

Sensing her obvious progress, Bai Yuan marveled at his own excellence and talent as a teacher, completely unaware that the way she was looking at him was quite strange.

Chapter 18 Victory or Defeat, A Stunning Illusion!

"The aroma of shumai fills the streets and alleys, with thin skin and generous filling that is tempting to taste. Crystal clear like jade, it contains a hundred flavors, and a light bite brings a long-lasting warmth."

As the shumai gradually approached his mouth, Bai Yuan opened his mouth and took a bite. The softness and elasticity of the shumai skin instantly burst in his mouth.

Then you can feel the freshness of the fish and the richness of the pork fat intertwined, creating a wonderful taste with distinct layers.

The freshness of scallions, ginger, and lemon effectively removes the fishy smell, while the addition of chopped onions and minced garlic makes the filling even more delicious.

So delicious! Bai Yuan couldn't help but recite a short poem. Alice Nakiri's shumai-making skills had improved again, which was gratifying.

The shumai in front of me is perfect except for the lack of proper pounding. You could easily call it a dish made by a master chef!

"Well done, Alice."

"Hehe, this is the result of my practice over the past few days. I was originally going to give you a surprise, since you said you liked shumai."

Upon hearing Bai Yuan's praise, Nakiri Alice excitedly began to speak, her voice filled with a sense of wanting credit.

"It seems there really is such a thing..."

Hearing Alice Nakiri's words, Bai Yuan was somewhat surprised. Then he began to recall, and a casual remark he had made two months ago came to mind.

"The shumai tastes really good. I used to really like eating shumai." It was such an ordinary remark that made Alice Nakiri focus on practicing shumai cooking when she was learning noodle dishes, just to give him a good taste experience.

"Let me try some!"

Seeing the expression of enjoyment on Bai Yuan's face and his high praise for him, Kurokiba Ryo, who had just finished making the new cod broth ramen, stepped forward, picked up his chopsticks, and tried to take the fish shumai from the plate.

"There are still some shumai in the pot, go and get them yourself, I specially prepared them for the chef!"

Everyone in the kitchen can try some. I made quite a lot; there should be enough for everyone to eat a few and there will still be some left over.

Alice Nakiri picked up a plate from the table, dodging Kurokiba Ryo's chopsticks as she spoke. She deliberately picked out the best-looking shumai for Bai Yuan, so he wouldn't eat it!

Seeing that many chefs in the kitchen were looking over, gazing longingly at the fish and meat shumai she was making, Alice added another sentence.

"Okay!"

"Thank you, young lady. Let me see what this incredibly fragrant shumai tastes like."

"I've never eaten anything like this before, it's a truly novel experience."

The people in the kitchen chatted amongst themselves and soon gathered in front of the steamer, their eyes fixed intently on the translucent shumai inside. The aroma was coming from there!